Dobrec, Lustica peninsular

Tourism - The greatest recognition of the quality of a beach is the environmental award the Blue Pennant. It is awarded by an international jury made up of representatives of the European Union and the World Tourist Organization. It is a sign of strictly enforced ecological standards and high-quality sanitary and safety facilities. The Blue Pennant signifies that 27 criteria in four categories have been met: water (sea) quality; ecological education and information; ecological management; safety and services. The Pennant is awarded on compliance with all the compulsory criteria and a large number of other recommendations. It is awarded for one season and each year the committee confirms whether the beach or other site still meets the requirements for awarding the Blue Pennant. In 2004 Blue Pennants flew in six beaches in Montenegro for the first time.
(information from the official site of the Montenegrin Tourist Organization)

1-Dobrec, Lustica peninsular 2-Carine, Risan 3-Plavi horizonti, Przno bay in the Lustica peninsular 4-Mogren, near Budva Old Town 5-Miami, Long Beach, Ulcinj 6-Tropicana, Long Beach, Ulcinj This ecological award has improved the quality of tourist facilities, and adds to the picture of Montenegro as an Ecological State. One of the originators of this project is Zoran Banicevic, the owner of Dobrec beach and holder of the Blue Pennant. ''As I have been involved in the problems of ecology and the protection of nature for a long time, I follow what is going on in the world, and that is how I came across the Blue Pennant award. I sent a proposal to the Ministry and the Seashore Management Authority, asking them to look at this problem from their position, while putting forward my beach as a candidate for the Blue Pennant. And so we had a meeting last year at which I was given a certificate allowing me to compete, and this year I was awarded the Blue Pennant.'' Three years ago Banicevic began to develop a shingle bay in the bay of Dobrec accessible only by sea. Dobrec lies on the peninsular of Lustica, in a bay, at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor. The exceptional peace and microclimate, which is created by the surrounding vegetation typical of the Mediterranean, have given the bay its name, and have influenced its relative isolation. ''I was involved in similar work before, with a beach at Zanjice. Whenever I passed this place in a boat I always thought about what could be done with it. Then three years ago I asked the Seashore Management Authority to visit the beach with me. It was not possible then to approach the beach even by boat as there where a large number of rocks blocking the entrance to the bay, so we had to moor the boat some fifty meters from the bay and then come across the rocky shore to get here'', says Zoran Banicevic. Then step by step began the process of taming this wild beauty in the middle of civilization, always in accordance with the strict ecological code which Banicevic strictly adheres to. There is no access to Dobrec beach by land. This means that the hinterland is untouched and unpolluted. Everything on the beach is made of stone and wood which completes the ecological picture. Drinking water is provided by a spring which empties into the sea under the rocks, and which Banicevic has capped. The water supplies showers, bar, kitchen and toilets via a pump and natural fall. The first smoking compartment in Montenegro is situated on Dobrec beach. The uniqueness of Dobrec can be seen in the restaurant menu offering fresh live sea urchins, montenegrin cuisine specialty roe and sea rock soup, and a ''Montenegro shark'' soup made from sharks fins caught here in the clean sea. Dobrec beach, decorated with its Blue Pennant, with its six hundred square meters of intelligently cultivated and protected nature, perfectly fits to the Montenegro's long standing slogan: "Montenegro - Natural Beauty". Nebojsa Mandic

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